Archive for the 'Dan Ellis' Tag Under 'Ducks' Category

His first game and his final game were the best moments of his season. Virtually everything else in between for Ducks backup goalie Dan Ellis was a nightmare.

If it was an injury that Ellis was dealing with -- and that was the case most of the time -- it was subpar play in the few chances that he had to make a difference.

With an expiring contract, it is no surprise that the Ducks won't bring back the quotable veteran. Ellis' time in Anaheim went downhill after some strong work during the middle of the team's goaltending crisis essentially won him the backup job.

The one thing Ellis didn't do was cower when things went awry. For instance, while everyone focused on Teemu Selanne's emotional return to Winnipeg, it was the netminder who felt as if he let his teammate down in a 5-3 loss to the Jets.

"I take full blame for that entire loss," Ellis said. "That's on me to play better. To make more saves. Do whatever it takes to win. Because right now, we need more out of everyone.

VANCOUVER, British Columbia -- Dan Ellis has held out hope that he can get into one of the Ducks' final games but there will only be two left after he sits up in the press box again Tuesday night at Rogers Arena.

Ellis has been practicing daily after recovering from sports hernia surgery on March 2 in what has been an injury-plagued season for the veteran goalie. Ducks coach Bruce Boudreau addressed the possibility of him seeing action either Thursday in Edmonton or Saturday in Calgary for the season finale.

"He's just getting better from a two-month injury," Boudreau said. "We wanted to get him some good practices in. If he's eligible to play or capable of playing and he gets cleared to play -- maybe one of the last two games -- we could either back him up or at least put him in the lineup."

Asked if that was realistic, Boudreau said, "I think it's a realistic goal. I don't know it's going to happen. He's coming a long way."

"I told him, 'Well, let's see how many pucks you stop in practice. That's a lot of an indication if he could be healthy. But not facing a lot of shots, he could be very, very rusty. And I worry about that."

ANAHEIM -- Dan Ellis had to share the net at times and also stood at one side of the rink while his Ducks teammates were down at the other end but his presence on the Honda Center ice Monday represented a step forward for the veteran goaltender.

Ellis took part in his first workout since tearing his groin muscle on Jan. 7 during a practice session. It has been a disastrous season for the Ducks' backup, who recovered from the groin injury but would also undergo sports hernia surgery in the first week of March to fix a previously undetected problem.

"It was enjoyable," Ellis said. "I've been working with [goaltending consultant] Pete Peeters a little bit just to work on some small controlled movements and stuff for about three or four days. Just got to the point where I was ready to get back out there and practice. Get in some situations that aren't as predictable."

Ellis has appeared in only 10 games this season and has just one win to his name -- a 41-save effort back in the Ducks' fifth game of 2011-12 at San Jose. His goal is to appear in one game out of the club's final six, perhaps in one of the contests during next week's three-game road trip to western Canada.

But there is also the fact that the Ducks already have a healthy Jonas Hiller and Jeff Deslauriers, who has won the only two starts he has made in relief of Hiller. With the team effectively out of contention for the playoffs, it figures that Deslauriers will make at least one more start down the stretch.

Ducks goaltender Dan Ellis had sports hernia Friday in Los Angeles. He's expected to miss an additional four to six weeks.

Ellis originally suffered a torn groin in practice Jan. 7. He will begin rehabilitation next week.

Jeff Deslauriers and Iiro Tarkki have taken turns backing up Jonas Hiller while Ellis has been out. Hiller, however, has taken over exclusively of late. He is expected to make his 24th consecutive start Friday against Calgary, which would be a new club record.

Ellis has appeared in only 10 games this season, going 1-5 with a 2.72 goals-against average and a .911 save percentage.

ANAHEIM -- Ducks goaltender Dan Ellis, out since Jan. 7 after tearing his groin muscle during practice, could be out for the remainder of the season as his recovery has gone much slower than originally anticipated.

No final determination on his status has been determined as Ellis is scheduled to see the doctor on Friday, where it is possible that the team could get an update before its home game against Calgary.

But Ducks coach Bruce Boudreau did say that he think Ellis is "another four to six weeks" away. The minimum part of that timetable would effectively take the veteran to the final week of the regular season. Ellis was originally expected to return sometime in February.

Jeff Deslauriers and Iiro Tarkki have taken turns backing up Jonas Hiller while Ellis has been sidelined. Both have only seen action with the Ducks when Hiller suffered a knee injury as Tarkki relieved him on Jan. 8 and picked up his first NHL win while Deslauriers stopped 26 shots against Dallas two nights later for his first league win in 21 months.

Deslauriers is currently up in Anaheim as Hiller is expected to make his 24th consecutive start tonight, which would establish a new club record.

TAMPA, Fla. – Ducks coach Bruce Boudreau said that he is hoping sidelined goaltender Dan Ellis will be able to start practicing with the team next week.

Ellis has on the shelf for the last six weeks due to a tear in his groin muscle that occurred during a practice in the first week of January. Boudreau said the reports he's getting are that the veteran has been skating on his own back in Anaheim.

“He's getting better,” Boudreau said. “I'm hoping by the time we get to practice at home next week that he's practicing with us. He's been out [six] weeks now. It's been a long time.”

Boudreau said Ellis isn't ready to put on pads yet but his hoping that will come soon. Ellis has battled groin issues all season and has appeared in only 10 games. going 1-5-0 with a 2.72 goals-against average.

ANAHEIM -- Ducks goalie Dan Ellis has been sidelined for a month becasuse of a torn groin muscle and it appears that he is just starting to begin the process toward returning to the ice.

Ellis has battled a tender groin this season but he tore the muscle during a practice session on Jan. 7 as he had to be helped off the ice by his teammates. The veteran netminder has been working out and rehabbing regularly, though he wasn't at Honda Center on Sunday.

"He says he's hoping to skate in sweats this week," Ducks coach Bruce Boudreau said. "And then hopefully by the end of the week, at least do some stretching on the ice."

CALGARY, Alberta -- The Ducks reassigned goalie Iiro Tarkki back to Syracuse of the American Hockey League on Thursday night after Jonas Hiller was able to start their game against the Calgary Flames.

Tarkki made his NHL debut Sunday when he relieved Hiller late in the first period and got the victory in the 7-4 win over Columbus, stopping seven of the 10 shots he faced. Hiller left that game early because of a lower-body injury.

Jeff Deslauriers, who has much more experience and won his start Tuesday against Dallas, will remain with the Ducks as their new backup. Dan Ellis told the Register that he has a tear of his groin muscle and his original timetable of four weeks is "on the low end."

Tarkki, 26, was promoted from Syracuse prior to Sunday's game after going 9-11-1 with a 2.85 goals-against average and a .916 save percentage for the Crunch.

Goalie Dan Ellis was helped off the ice by teammates midway through Saturday's practice.

The backup to Jonas Hiller, Ellis did not look good leaving the ice. He appeared unable to put weight on one leg.

"He just went down in a heap," Coach Bruce Boudreau said. "(Looks like) a groin injury, but I'm not 100 percent sure. We'll know more tomorrow."

Forward George Parros also left the workout early because of his sore groin. Parros has been scratched before three of the past four games.

Ellis has had issues with a lingering groin problem and didn't dress for four games starting in late November because of it. Jeff Deslauriers was called up from AHL Syracuse to fill in for Ellis at that time.